With new aid for Ukraine stalled in Congress since December, the White House on Tuesday announced it had cobbled together another $300 million in military assistance to use as a stopgap measure.
“The package includes munitions and rounds to help Ukraine hold the line against Russia’s brutal attacks for the next couple of weeks,” President Joe Biden said in a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the White House, adding, “we must act before it literally is too late.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan detailed the package at White House briefing, saying that the aid comes as Ukraine “does not have enough ammunition to fire back.”
“So today, on behalf of President Biden, I’m announcing an emergency package of security assistance of $300 million worth of weapons and equipment to address some of Ukraine’s pressing needs,” Sullivan said.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House, March 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
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The package will include anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition, artillery rounds, and anti-armor systems.
“It is assistance that Ukraine desperately needs to hold the line against Russian attacks and to push back against the continuing Russian onslaught in the East and in other parts of,” Sullivan said.
When pressed by ABC News’ Karen Travers about how quickly this aid could get to Ukraine, Sullivan said “we can move this stuff fast.”
“We have proven that over time, we have built a logistical pipeline and backbone to be able to do that,” Sullivan said. “I can’t give you a precise estimate for operational reasons, but it’s going to move very quickly.”
An artillery division of the 59th brigade fires on Russian forces on the frontline near Donetsk, Dec. 23, 2022, in Donetsk, Ukraine. The division is firing 152 mm rounds with a Howitzer D20 cannon supplied by the United States of America.
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This funding comes as a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes nearly $60 million in funds for Ukraine has been stalled in the House for nearly a month. That bill passed the Democrat-controlled Senate in early February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has not brought the package to the floor for a vote.
Sullivan said that past contracts were negotiated “well,” leaving more savings on the table for this new aid package.
“And to put a fine point on it, we’re able to use these cost savings to make this modest amount of new security assistance available right now without impacting U.S. military readiness, and the president has directed his team to use these cost savings.”
But Sullivan also made clear that this package did not supplant further funding that would come from congressional action.
An artillery division of the 59th brigade fires on Russian forces on the frontline near Donetsk, Dec. 23, 2022, in Donetsk, Ukraine. The division is firing 152 mm rounds with a Howitzer D20 cannon supplied by the United States of America.
Pierre Crom/Getty Images
“It goes without saying, this package does not displace and should not delay the critical need to pass the bipartisan national security bill,” Sullivan said.
One official told ABC News that this package was one calling this drawdown package a “one-time shot.”
Sullivan also told Karen that the administration does not anticipate another opportunity like this.
“Well, as my friends at DOD like to remind me, we can’t plan on cost savings. So, we can’t plan on any future drawdowns being available on the basis of cost savings. So, we’re not anticipating that. It’s not built into what we’re looking for.”
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
Source: abc news
